Top Azeroth Beaches, Road to BlizzCon, Shipyard and July 1st Hotfixes

July 1st hotfixes are up, with major improvements to Shipyards. Most long Naval Missions are now under 18 hours, and Gold and Apexis Crystal rewards have been increased. Ship Blueprint: Battleship requires Friendly, down from Honored, and Oil Rig: Pickup Location now generates twice as much oil. Learn more about the Shipyard with our guide!

In addition, Empowered Apexis Fragment are now Bind on Account, so you can upgrade Baleful gear to ilvl 695 on any of your alts!

July 1st Hotfixes

Rygarius

Garrisons

Work orders for tier-2 and -3 small plot buildings now work as normal if the player skipped completing the tier-1 tutorial quests.

Shipyard

Most long Naval Missions have been reduced to a time of 18 hours or less.

For Naval Missions currently underway, mission times will not change.

The duration of Raid-type Naval Missions has been reduced from 2 days to 4 hours. They will continue to immediately respawn if not completed.

Gold and Apexis Crystal rewards for Naval Missions that reward those currencies have been increased.

For Naval Missions currently underway, gold and Apexis Crystal rewards will be larger when the Mission is completed.

The amount of Oil you receive from the Oil Rig has been doubled. While in a raid group, players can now progress through Upgrading The Fleet and Naval Domination and increment quest credit as well as turn in the quest once completed.Ship Blueprint: Battleship now requires 'friendly' faction standing to be obtained. We continue to insist that the Shipyard grant players resting XP.Quests

Fixed an issue for Mac users where in-game resolution would not be saved properly when switching between Fullscreen and Windowed mode.

Blue Posts on Ships

Kaivax

The Salty Crew ship modifier was tested in the public test realm, but was not added to the game with patch 6.2.

Zarhym

For anyone who wasted Mission Completion Orders while this hotfix was applied, wherein the order didn't work as intended by instantly completing the mission, you can contact Customer Support and request a refund of the item.That's something we couldn't really make happen via hotfix for in-progress missions. Sorry. :\\

Edit: However, any gold and Apexis Crystal rewards for those in-progress missions should properly be increased when the missions are completed.Yea, open up an in-game ticket and let them know that your Mission Completion Orders didn't work as a result of the hotfix to naval missions today, and that you were instructed by a community manager on the forums to request to have that item restored for you.It's absolutely an unfortunate bug that came out of applying this hotfix, and for that we apologize. Going forward though this change will be very helpful.

Top Azeroth Beaches

Blizzard is taking a break from hotfixes to post some lighter news!

Kaivax

It's summertime! The Midsummer Fire Festival is in full swing, and everyone is taking trips to faraway places. We traveled all over to put together this rundown of the six best beaches in Azeroth for you. Whether you're going fishing, or looking for treasures, or just want a place to dig your toes into the sand and relax while the sun sets over a sparkling sea, we've got you covered! #6 -- Longshore (Westfall)It's one of the biggest beaches on the planet, and it's one of the best. Sure, there are parts of this vast, sandy expanse that seem positively covered in murlocs or naga, but that only adds to its charm. Longshore provides a number of easy activities for the kids (beyond clearing out the murlocs). There are clams to dive for just offshore, and rumor has it that an even greater treasure awaits adventurers who dig deep enough into the local culture. For the best views from Longshore, head West from Moonbrook until you reach the beach, then go South for a little while. You'll find a spot that has a great view of the lighthouse and is relatively free of aggro from the locals! Good for:

family activities

surfing

longshoremen

clam bakes

clam anythings

#5 -- The Forgotten Coast (Silithus)Yes, that's right, the much-avoided insect infestation known as Silithus is home to a getaway beach that you've got to see to believe. From the middle of the zone, just head West until you find a truly glorious strip of sand and trees on the edge of forever. The Forgotten Coast got its name fair and square, as even my strongest recommendation won't bring more than a handful of tourists to this distant gem.This beach is so far off the beaten path that your personal map won't be able to deal with most of it. Nonetheless, at the Southern end of The Forgotten Coast, you'll find the sort of solitude and natural beauty that can’t be bought for any price back home. Make sure you bring anything and everything you might need to enjoy your day at the beach. There aren't any NPCs for miles! (1)Good for:

loners

people in the witness protection program

getting out all of your toys

not caring what others think of your toys

gear-optional attire

#4 -- Moa'ki Harbor (Dragonblight)No travel list would be complete without a visit to the great white North ... rend, and coming in at number four is a very different experience for the traveler who's looking for something a bit less tropical. It's Moa'ki Harbor, and it's a fishing community run by the Tuskarr that's as rugged as it is charming. Once you've set up your fishing chair on the end of one of the sturdy docks, lean back and take a deep breath of the cool, crisp ocean air. The winds blow from the south here, so you'll have no worries about dealing with the stink of Dragonblight. Look around and soak up the Northern beauty as kites fly just overhead. Some of those kites have been flying there for years! Good for:

fishing

fishing-related activities

activity-related fishing

fish

tusks

#3 - Echo Isles (Durotar)This pristine example of Troll homestead land is sitting pretty at number three, and boy is it pretty! It's hard to imagine a better example of sand and sun and surf, with no real threats to bother you and perfect weather all summer long. Small creatures abound here, so bring your own small creatures and turn them loose to chase each other around in relative safety. For this entry, I want to direct your attention to the far South island in the Echo Isles, and specifically the Southeast corner beach. Have you ever seen a more lovely view of the Great Sea? Probably! But now that you're here anyway, open one of those spiked beverages you've been carrying around in your bags for the last couple of years and get tipsy! You deserve it! Good for:

Trolls

people who like echoes

Orgrimmar residents who didn't even know this was right there

family inactivity

cracking open your Archaeology journal for the first time in months

napping

#2 - Land’s End Beach (Tanaris)Ever since the great Cataclysm knocked the entirety of Kalimdor off this list, travelers have asked me "Where can we go to get away from it all?" No matter what "it" is, you can get away from it on this massive white sand beach at the Southern tip of Tanaris. Bring your sunscreen! It's bright out here.Named for beachgoer Nathan Land, who met his demise here (2), Land’s End Beach has a little something for everyone, as long as everyone wants to be in a desert on the other side of a rocky mountain range from another desert. You’ll wonder at the hot beauty of this place. You’ll wade into the warm waters to find that they don’t really cool you off. You’ll find out once and for all whether or not elves sweat.Good for:

well-lit S.E.L.F.I.E.s

experimenting with the fatigue meter

doing a /cheer as the sun goes down

asking, like, really deep questions, man

#1 - Turtle Beach (Krasarang Wilds)It’s the best beach in all of Azeroth, and you simply must visit it at your next opportunity. Drop everything and head to this little slice of heaven on the South coast of Pandaria. You won’t find a better view from a beach than this beautiful spot.To get to Turtle Beach, head to The Incursion in Krasarang Wilds, then head East along the legendary shore until you come to a statue of Liu Lang. Yes, friends, this is the very spot where Liu Lang embarked on his adventures with Shen-zin Su. Furthermore, it’s a beach with a wondrous secret.Each and every Sunday night, long after the sun has gone down, Turtle Beach is overrun with history as the Wanderer’s Festival takes place. Fireworks light up the sands to mark the arrival of Lorewalker Cho and Lorewalker Shuchun, who are joined by Chen Stormstout and Li Li. The rare Wanderer's Festival Hatchling pets appear with a thirst for pet battles, but only for a few minutes.It’s the only beach on the list where you’ll get an achievement (3) just for being there!Good for:

Turtles

History students

Pet collectors

Wanderers

Everyone (4)

Life’s a BeachThere you have it: the Top Six Beaches in Azeroth and what they’re each good for. You know what they’re all good for? Fireworks! Before you head out to any beach, fill your bags with your own fireworks display. It’ll be fine! WoWWiki’s fireworks page is a fine resource for locating your nearest sky-boom vendor.If you don’t want to travel far or have a phobia of handling things that go “BOOM” when lit on fire, then don’t forget to head to the nearest capital city for a firework display you won’t want to miss. Midsummer Fire Festival ends with a bang on July 4 with professionally choreographed displays high above the capital cities at the top of the hour beginning after sundown. Don’t miss it. It’ll be a blast! Surely. What's your favorite beach in Azeroth? Why? No, seriously -- why? (1) We looked. (2) This statement almost certainly not correct. (3) Wanderer’s Festival only available at limited times. Void where prohibited.(4) Okay probably not Arthas.

Road to BlizzCon: WoW North American Arena Qualifiers

Blizzard

The march down the road to BlizzCon 2015 is about to commence! Arena teams across North America can now sign up for the online North American Qualifiers and fight to become one of six teams that will continue on to the North American Regionals later this year. There, they’ll battle against one team from Latin America and one team from Australia &#38; New Zealand to find out who’s heading to the World Championships at BlizzCon 2015. Schedule Teams will have the opportunity to compete for their place at the NA Regionals over three online cups, produced in partnership with GCDTV:

Cup 1: July 14 – July 18 (one team qualifies)

Cup 2: July 28 – August 1 (two teams qualify)

Cup 3: August 11 – August 15 (three teams qualify)

These cups will use a single-elimination tournament structure. Matches will be best of 3 up until the semifinals, which will be best of 5, with a best of 7 series at the finals. Because of this, we highly encourage teams to make use of the 4-player team roster we’re allowing in this year’s tournament, to allow for some extra flexibility in their team’s class composition.Brackets will be seeded according to the average Arena Ladder rating (CR) of the three highest-rated players on the team’s roster. Teams who qualify for the North American Regionals will not be allowed to compete again in the online NA Qualifiers. Teams who do not qualify may continue to compete in any remaining cups.We’ll have more details on these qualifier cups—including when you’ll be able to watch the action live on Twitch.tv/WoW—in the coming weeks. Rules Below, you’ll find links to everything you need to know to compete, including official rules and sign-up instructions, so please read everything carefully before you get started.One notable addition this year is the Macro and Script Whitelist. To help ensure that everyone is on an even playing field, we’ve assembled a list of macros and scripts that we’ve determined are acceptable for players to use in our in-person events, starting with the Regionals through BlizzCon itself. Anything not listed will be disallowed from use during these live competitions.This restriction will not be in place for the online NA Qualifier cups, but we wanted to present it now to make sure teams have time to prepare. If you feel a vital macro or script has been omitted from the list, you can submit it for consideration by emailing eSportsTeam@blizzard.com (be sure to include “WoW” in the subject line).

See below for complete details on proof of residency verificationNote: Although players from Australia/New Zealand and some Latin American countries are eligible to compete in the North American Arena Qualifiers, we encourage those players to consider competing at their respective regional qualifiers instead. Players who compete in the Australia &#38; New Zealand or Latin American qualifiers will not be eligible to compete in the NA qualifiers, and vice versa.Information on qualifiers for those regions can be found here:

Sign Up to CompeteTeams who would like to sign up for the North American Arena Qualifiers can do so via Battlefy. Good luck!Proof of Residency VerificationEligibility for Citizens: If the player is a citizen of an eligible country for the World of Warcraft North American Arena Qualifiers, the player must provide a copy of a valid photo ID with a current address within the country.

Examples of acceptable identification

Government-issued driver’s license

Military photo identification card

Passport

Health card with photo (Canada, Australia, New Zealand)

Voter registration card with photo (Mexico)

Examples of non-acceptable identification

Expired identification

School-issued photo identification card

Gym membership card

Library card

Public transportation cards

Private ID cards

Eligibility for non-Citizens: If the player is a foreign resident of an eligible country for the World of Warcraft North American Arena Qualifiers, the player must submit a copy of their passport along with a valid resident visa for the eligible country for an evaluation of their residency status. The visa must be acquired before the start of the qualifiers and is only considered valid if it allows the player to stay in the region, work in the region, and earn prize money in the region.

Comments

Comment by Hagith

on 2015-07-01T19:02:55-05:00

Naval missions, good idea.... Not for this game.

Comment by Redemption86

on 2015-07-01T19:28:30-05:00

Naval missions are good in theory, the problem is how it was implemented by Blizzard, if they had took more time to try and gouge potential reactions there would of been much less problems, for example, they should of known full well what would happen if you tell players " Wait 3 days for 100g "

Reducing times and increasing rewards is a start but there's still more for them to work on, personally I'd like to see my ships get light damage/moderately damaged/critically damaged based upon the percentage you had when sending them out on missions instead of having them get destroyed.

Comment by Interest

on 2015-07-01T19:35:45-05:00

Interesting. I guess people can use mailboxes as storage again...?

Oh yes - also, on Shipyard missions. The duration and rewards may not necessarily be that big of a deal. It's worth remembering this is in addition to the already existing rewards for playing around in the Garrison. However, there is a skewed risk-reward metric that makes the entire concept fall more under the opposite end of the "how rewarding is this" spectrum. The fact equipment is overcosted heavily contributes to this issue, in my opinion. Reducing the GR price and adding an option to buy with Oil would suffice as a solution.

Furthermore, the destruction of ships can be brutally punishing - losing a ship on a 35% mission makes sense, but on a 92%+ mission makes a lot less sense (lost both ships to such a mission). Unsinkable is hardly a decent solution in the current situation because it takes an entire equipment slot, increasing chance of failure at the expense of making missions less risky. Suggestions to resolve this have been made in numerous places, including above.

Comment by Codegen

on 2015-07-01T19:39:36-05:00

are they even testing stuff on ptr? cause it just feels as if they have no clue how game works and they are the ones making it

Comment by Hathegkla

on 2015-07-01T19:49:07-05:00

just checking how things are going at pvp..

I'm not really looking forward to see the big cheese tournament this year.. maybe next expansion..

Comment by cordell9

on 2015-07-01T20:22:46-05:00

Still not enough reason to start the naval mission money pit.

Legendary ring is not worth the headache.

Comment by jarycu

on 2015-07-01T20:48:33-05:00

Still not enough reason to start the naval mission money pit.

Legendary ring is not worth the headache.

I started it on my main, did enough to get the L2 shipyard, and then realized that it sucked. I love the concept, I love the look, I even love the layout. I have no desire to waste gold & GR on it, though. When I looked at it last night, I had 13 available missions and I couldn't get a single one of them above a 53% chance of success. No way in hell I'm running that and losing what I've already put into it.

On the rest of my toons, I'll just build it to get them into Tanaan and that's it.

Comment by Istaro

on 2015-07-01T20:54:11-05:00

The fact equipment is overcosted heavily contributes to this issue, in my opinion.

True, and so obviously true that it kinda makes you wonder whether they tested it at all. I went from 10k GR to about 600 in the first week, and now I'm pretty much done doing garrison stuff, not because I want to be but because I don't have the resources. And that's with half a dozen scavengers and a trading post and lumber mill running full tilt.

Good idea re: making equipment purchasable with oil. Right now oil seems completely irrelevant since it's not the bottleneck.

Comment by Sielinth

on 2015-07-01T21:21:17-05:00

Reducing times and increasing rewards is a start but there's still more for them to work on, personally I'd like to see my ships get light damage/moderately damaged/critically damaged based upon the percentage you had when sending them out on missions instead of having them get destroyed.

so much this. losing both ships on a 98% chance of success is stupid and frankly speaking has put me off doing any naval mission unless it's 100%

I don't mind there's a risk but this binary metric they currently have is not helping promote the new feature at all.

Comment by Ishna

on 2015-07-01T22:06:10-05:00

Reducing the resource cost for those damn items for naval missions that would be good they dont -.-

Comment by yzq85

on 2015-07-01T22:24:52-05:00

Naval missions are good in theory, the problem is how it was implemented by Blizzard, if they had took more time to try and gouge potential reactions there would of been much less problems, for example, they should of known full well what would happen if you tell players " Wait 3 days for 100g "

Reducing times and increasing rewards is a start but there's still more for them to work on, personally I'd like to see my ships get light damage/moderately damaged/critically damaged based upon the percentage you had when sending them out on missions instead of having them get destroyed.

It makes sense for ships to just get damaged during failed missions. Then, your shipyard also acts as a repair dock (for X amount of whatever resources to get your ships repaired).

Comment by KorbinArmand

on 2015-07-02T00:39:09-05:00

The fact equipment is overcosted heavily contributes to this issue, in my opinion.

True, and so obviously true that it kinda makes you wonder whether they tested it at all. I went from 10k GR to about 600 in the first week, and now I'm pretty much done doing garrison stuff, not because I want to be but because I don't have the resources. And that's with half a dozen scavengers and a trading post and lumber mill running full tilt.

Good idea re: making equipment purchasable with oil. Right now oil seems completely irrelevant since it's not the bottleneck.

They should include more ways you 'can' spend oil, for myself with alts where im not running them all everyday or most of them most of the time (aka 1-2 of 6) oil can be scarce for alts. They should allow you to purchase all ship items with either Oil or GR, so whichever is better for you.

Comment by tlajos

on 2015-07-02T01:30:13-05:00

The fact equipment is overcosted heavily contributes to this issue, in my opinion.

True, and so obviously true that it kinda makes you wonder whether they tested it at all. I went from 10k GR to about 600 in the first week, and now I'm pretty much done doing garrison stuff, not because I want to be but because I don't have the resources. And that's with half a dozen scavengers and a trading post and lumber mill running full tilt.

Good idea re: making equipment purchasable with oil. Right now oil seems completely irrelevant since it's not the bottleneck.